HH bonds: all matured, still redeemable

Series HH stopped being issued in 2004 and the last bonds stopped paying interest in August 2024. Here is what to do with one.

• Every Series HH bond has reached final maturity and stopped paying interest — the last ones, issued August 2004, matured in August 2024 (TreasuryDirect).
• Treasury's records show 472,117 HH bonds still outstanding and unredeemed as of June 30, 2026 (Treasury Fiscal Data).
• HH bonds are redeemed at face value — unlike EE and I bonds, they paid their interest in cash twice a year instead of growing (TreasuryDirect).
• Banks do not cash HH bonds: they must be mailed to Treasury Retail Securities Services with FS Form 1522 (TreasuryDirect).
• Any deferred interest printed on the face of an HH bond became reportable for federal income tax in the bond's final-maturity year, even if the bond was never cashed (TreasuryDirect).

What HH bonds were

Series HH bonds (January 1980 – August 2004) were current-income bonds: instead of accruing value like EE bonds, they paid interest by direct deposit every six months and repaid their face value when cashed. You could not buy them with cash — they were acquired by exchanging Series E or EE bonds or Savings Notes, which let holders keep deferring the old bonds' accumulated interest (TreasuryDirect: HH bonds).

HH bonds earned interest for 20 years. Treasury stopped issuing them in August 2004, so the last HH bonds stopped paying interest in August 2024. There is no such thing as an HH bond that is still earning.

How to cash an HH bond

1. Do not take it to a bank — banks cash EE and I bonds at most, not HH (TreasuryDirect: cashing HH bonds).
2. Fill out FS Form 1522; if the total value is over $1,000, the form requires a certified signature.
3. Mail the form and the bonds to Treasury Retail Securities Services, P.O. Box 9150, Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150. Treasury pays the face value by direct deposit.

The deferred-interest tax trap

Many HH bonds carry a "deferred interest" amount printed on the face — the untaxed growth of the E/EE bonds that were exchanged for them. That deferred interest became reportable for federal income tax in the year the HH bond reached final maturity, whether or not it was cashed (TreasuryDirect's tax pages). Holders cashing a long-matured HH bond now may need to amend or address a prior tax year — see how savings bonds are taxed; this site describes Treasury's process, not tax advice.

Related: an older current-income bond may be Series H (1952–1979); all Series H bonds are also matured and redeemable the same way. Check any bond with the checker.

Frequently asked questions